A Japanese lady I met in Seattle had, 50 years ago as a very young woman in Japan, started reading the Bible on her own. But she had no one to discuss it with. Experiencing many family difficulties, she asked the Buddhist priest how to find peace. He basically explained karma: do good and good will come; do bad and bad will come. (But in the Buddhist system, one is never certain of having done enough and has no way of knowing what cosmic force is keeping score.) This lady found no peace there.
T
hen some Christians came into her life. They explained that no one can ever be “good enough,” but that Jesus paid the price. And that was it, she said. So I asked, “Are you saying, then, that you clearly saw the distinction between Buddhism and Christianity?” She nodded vigorously and answered, “Yes! It was the atonement. I couldn’t be perfect and I couldn’t pay for my wrongs, but I didn’t have to. Jesus paid.”
It was a joy to chat with this sweet-and-strong lady, who has been walking with the Prince of Peace all these years.
